Ex-PhilHealth prez Padilla accepts military's apology over inclusion in NPA list

Former Health Undersecretary Alexander Padilla on Monday accepted the apology of the Philippine military regarding his inclusion in the list of University of the Philippines' graduates who supposedly became members of the New People's Army.

"Nagpapasalamat naman ako at tinatanggap ko naman 'yung naging apology ng ating AFP Information Management Center kaya lang ang sa akin lang, huwag naman sana itong mangyari ulit at ingat-ingatan nila dahil naglalaro sila sa buhay ng mga tao," Padilla told Dobol B sa News TV.

Despite accepting the apology, Padilla, also a former PhilHealth president and CEO, said he and other UP alumni would still determine if they would lodge formal complaints against those who made the list.

"Pag-aaralan pa namin ng mga kasamahan ko dahil nga gusto namin maging leksiyon sana ito," he said.

"Marami kaming options, kakasuhan ba ng cyberlibel, criminal case ng libel o kaya naman violation ng international humanitarian law. So marami kaming options, of course nakatulong naman 'yung apology ng AFP Management Bureau pero still, sapat ba 'yun at di na ba ito mauulit?" he added.

The list, posted on the Facebook page of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Information Exchange, has already been deleted amid the uproar it caused.

The AFP's Civil-Military Operations Office (J7) said an investigation is ongoing to find out how the list of students, who allegedly joined the NPA, was published.

'Walang intelligence'

Padilla, meanwhile, called on the AFP to carefully validate the information it has before disclosing it to the public, as wrong information could put someone's life at risk.

"Ang laki-laki naman ng intelligence fund nila, sana naman bawat labas ng information ay talagang pag-aaralan nila ng mabuti. Ito po ay di laro, talagang nakataya ang buhay ng mga tao dito," Padilla, a lawyer, said.

He said even though he was an activist during the Marcos years, this should not be the basis of the military regarding its intelligence data.

"Ayoko sana sabihin pero parang walang intelligence, 'no? Kitang-kita, binubusisi ko 'yung listahan at ito nga'y mga kasamahan ko rin, kapanahunan ko, late 70s to early 80s, so we're talking about, what, 40 years? 'Yan na ba ang intelligence product ng AFP?" he asked.

"Aminado naman kami aktibista kami dati, lumaban kami sa batas militar... hanggang doon na lang ba ang intelligence ng AFP? Mukhang kailangan nila talagang ayusin nang mabuti. Huwag sanang bara-bara na maglalabas sila ng ganitong impormasyon," Padilla added.

The issue came out after the Department of National Defense unilaterally ended its 31-year-old agreement with UP regarding the ban on the entry of state forces inside its campuses. —KBK, GMA News